Duty and Honor
by snowcloud8
Summary: Despite having no interest in joining the war effort, it was his duty to serve his country. Devoted to her family, she joined the military in order to protect her brother. In order to regain his honor and acceptance from his father, he would have to prove his worth. What better way to achieve all 3 than to hunt for the Avatar? Takes place during the lost years of Zuko's banishment.
1. Chasing the Sun

**Chapter 1: Chasing the Sun**

"Wake up, you panda-lilies!"

Kai turned her head so her face was smothered by the flat cushion of her pillow to try and muffle the defiant groan that was building in the back of her throat from the prying ears of her commanding officer. It was funny that even after having been in basic training for almost three months in the Fire Nation military, she still lacked the natural drive within all firebenders to rise with the sun. Other non-benders like her neighbor, Anju, had a similar reaction, cursed to live and train with a group of morning people. Guess some things never changed.

Lanterns on the wall were lit by one long, thin stream of fire that traveled around the room before disappearing into the final oil lamp. "You have twenty minutes to dress and make this place spotless before assembling in the courtyard. Let's go go go!" The clatter and shifting of straw and bamboo shoots was almost immediate as some recruits who had already risen were folding their sheets so thin and wrinkle free that the blankets were straight enough to bounce a copper piece off the pile.

A familiar pair of smelly feet slid towards the front of Kai's face, effectively being her wake-up call. "Ugh! Hotaru, do you ever wash your feet when we go to the bathhouse? They smell like stale fire-flakes," Kai hissed, pushing her brother's feet away from her face before one playfully nudged the back of her head.

"I think his feet are cute," Anju commented with a smile while Kai continued to swat at the putrid feet that continued to harass her, messing and tangling its toes in her hair before they retreated to the opposing mat at the success of having her sitting up for morning wake-up, "and I kind of like that fire-flake smell."

"Kai! Anju! Five laps around the training grounds and an extra half hour calisthenics!" their captain ordered with her ever-so-gentle, jarring voice that had all the tenderness of a boar-q-pine. The two girls quickly buttoned their lips and started making their way towards the exit, badgered by nearby lieutenants who heard the order and shouted at them to pick up their knees and keep up the pace while the rest of the recruits continued rolling their tatami mats and placing them in the correct corners of the room. Even after day one, Kai still couldn't learn to keep her mouth shut.

_"Hotaru!_ It appears you seem eager to share in Kai and Anju's punishment. Five more laps will be added to all three of you while the rest of your unit runs with you!" Kai couldn't see what he had done to warrant the punishments, but now half of the soldiers in the barracks immediately dropped everything and suppressed a groan as they joined her and Anju in running laps outside the building, while the other division continued making up the beds. Still, no one back-sassed a captain, especially Captain Akane. Despite being in her late sixties, a mother of two, and a grandmother of six, she wouldn't hesitate to make someone's life a living hell so much as if they had given her a slightly less indifferent look when given orders. Even the male lieutenants and captains they had seen wandering the barracks avoided her. Still, they should have gotten more than a couple of laps around the training grounds and extra time doing calisthenics for speaking in the presence of the captain without given express permission. Either Captain Akane was slipping... or she was in a good mood. Either way, today was going to be a nightmare for all of them.

Kai's vision began adjusting to the darkness once more as the chill of the spring air left a sharp crispness in her chest. The wetness of morning dew and the occasional puddle of rain could be felt on her bare feet as she ran in nothing but her sleeping kimono and sarashi wrappings, her ash-colored robes blowing slightly in the breeze with every step forward. The sun had not quite peaked above the horizon, but the sky gave indication that it was coming close, tinged slightly warmer shades of navy and violet. Kai and Anju continued to be the front runners of the group while the rest of the 42nd division followed behind them until she heard an out of tempo pair of footsteps follow behind the duo for a few paces, which she didn't recognize to be her brother's until he was quickly passing her on the right. It took her only a couple of seconds to notice that his speed now matched with Anju's, who was just a little bit ahead of Kai, the girl having shorter legs than her. Hotaru's dark amber gaze lowered to Anju's honeyed one before giving her a shy grin. Looks were traded between the two, but neither spoke a word of it to each other. Kai just smiled, keeping her pace just behind her brother's so the two could have their privacy. There was little doubt in her mind that her brother liked Anju and would be pleased to be spending any amount of time with the freckle covered girl outside of the mess hall, even if they were being constantly watched and yelled at while doing so. His heart had never been fully in it for the training or the glory of war. He was hardly here by choice, being more of a lover than a fighter.

Kai sped up for a couple of paces to give her brother a sidelong glance- _You did that thing with your feet this morning on purpose to spend time with her, didn't you?_ -and as if Hotaru could read her mind, he mirrored her expression as his lips twitched slightly and subtly mouthed the words 'worth it' when he was certain there were no soldiers nearby to witness the silent exchange. Having caught the silent words between the siblings, the tiny archer flushed red, though most would have passed it off as a result of her physical exertion as Hotaru continued onward with his wordless flirting and unspoken conversation with Anju.

In the distance, they could see Fire Nation soldiers raise the flag while other drills were being run by newer recruits. Kai tore her gaze away from the young lovebirds to spare the FNGs a brief, sympathetic glance, noticing the struggles of more than a few fresh recruits she and her unit easily passed alongside. Almost all of them had dull tears or defeat in their eyes. Continuing her pace chasing after Anju and Hotaru, she reaffirmed her gaze and began glaring holes into the back of her brother's salmon-colored sleeping kimono with intense focus. That was what drove her forward. She refused to be recycled into next week's unit or let anyone else close to her fall behind. She had come too far to put that all in jeopardy now.

After the first five laps, the recruits behind them marched back into the barracks while the three of them continued with their punishment, now having much more up-close and personal attention from the other high ranking soldiers as they were yelled at from all sides. Dirt and gravel now caked the bottom of their feet, which were now numb to the icy mud they had been forced to trudge in by having no time to change into their gata house slippers or their military-issued boots, before they returned back their barracks to finish up the task of making up the beds and assemble for morning drills. The shiver of an early spring morning now felt like both a heavyweight on her chest and a relief to her boiling skin. Kai's lungs felt like she was inhaling sand and smoke, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. After forcing herself to commit to so many years of exercise and training, she learned what her limits were, how to push through the pain and understood what wouldn't cause herself further injury. Besides, if she showed weakness now, then the adults would just come down on them that much harder.

Not bothering with any other activities that weren't mandatory, Kai quickly drowned out the shouting and berating of the officers telling them to work double-time to keep up with the other recruits, who were now suffering due to their insubordination, and ran a wet washcloth over herself and dressed in her military red and gold uniform. Having already taken her shower last night, she pulled her hair into a high ponytail with the other preening girls of the barracks until not a hair was out of place. All of them had the same hair length, the ponytails coming down to the nape of their necks- only difference between them were the subtle shades of brown and black hair and the occasional girls like her who had gotten bangs or were growing them out before joining up -while the boys wound their shoulder length hair into top knots. No facial hair was allowed among the boy cadets, though if they were like Hotaru, you could see them getting away with an occasional side-burn which was allowed for those who could grow them and keep them trimmed neat and tidy.

After donning her Fire Nation emblem headband, the metal plate forcefully pressing down on her oily bangs, she would walk by and notice another recruit falling behind and hand them a headband or a comb or help them do their hair really quickly. It was one thing if she fell behind, but if her team was suffering from her actions, she would personally see to it that they made the grade.

After getting a couple nods of acknowledgement from some of the girls, Kai took her place outside with the other recruits of her unit and stood next to her brother alongside the other soldiers. This morning, they had the pleasure of training with both divisions onsite, the expanse of land being much more crowded with double the amount of soldiers. As much as Kai hated waking up early, being forced to do calisthenics every morning was actually a normal routine in her household. Being that her family was mostly made up of firebenders and military personnel, she was subjected to calisthenics to keep good health since birth, which meant deep breathing, stretching, and meditation while they performed firebending stretches and forms. Strangely enough, it was the only relaxing part of her day when they were at attention, as some of the motions were familiar and less aggressive when fire wasn't shooting off into your face.

Silence was present among the troops, aside from the cries of birds and rustling of wind through the trees. Cherry blossom petals blew occasionally in the wind as if to signify that spring was officially here while they waited for the command to start. The sun slid lazily across the horizon, stretching across the great expanse and becoming the dividing line between sea, land, and sky before the corporal let out a shout.

"Atten-shun!" Everyone was suddenly more alert then they had been before, if that was even possible, and they began their day with the standard Fire Nation Oath, bowing slightly and then placing their hands just so with a closed lower left fist slightly under the flat palm of their right, imitating a small flame. There was no portrait of the Fire Lord to face like they had done in school, and only a few of them remembered the slight alteration done to the pledge when Fire Lord Azulon had passed, so they stared up towards the Fire Nation flag that flew proudly above them in the spring wind as they spoke as one strong, clear, amalgamous voice:

_"My life I give to my country,_  
_With my hands I fight for Fire Lord Ozai and our forefathers before him,_  
_With my mind I seek ways to better my country,_  
_With my feet may the March of Civilization continue."_

Then Captain Akane and her lieutenant Lan Fan stood above them, ordering motions with their hands as everyone began practicing and imitating their firebending forms. The slow, controlled stretches caused Kai to yawn widely every thirty seconds or so, the tense muscles in her back, arms, and legs loosening up with a certain, relaxed lethargy as her lungs expanded along with the stretch of her spine. She locked her jaw the moment she felt the yawn stretch across her face, trying to mask her yawns through a restrained, inaudible, slow breathe out through her nose as the watchful eye of Captain Akane scrutinized over her unit like an eagle-hawk. Her brother didn't fair that much better, but he kept his head down and eyes focused.

Taking a couple paces back, giving them a more even spacing, the actual practice of firebending katas began to be used. Occasional flashes of fire could be seen sporadically through the troop lines, though it was met with quick and decisive action. Kai could feel the heat of the fire blasts crawl up her back as beads of sweat began trickling down her face and neck as Captain Akane's second lieutenants Zorin and Kagerou began berating the troops for using fire without express permission- both of their armor looked about the same as lieutenants but lacked the gold belt buckle that came with ranks higher than lieutenant, replaced with a silver buckle -and the accused would suddenly drop and do ten or fifteen extra hot squats. Her brother beside her began transitioning into faster, more aggressive firebending katas, involving shouting while generating twenty sets of fire fists. She mimicked the actions to the best of her ability, neither of the siblings releasing any heat from their punches or kicks. Finally, as their final set came, the entire unit was in-sync with their leaders as they were given permission to bend. The point of the restraint of firebending was not only to reduce injury to recruits, both benders and non-benders, but to increase control until the build up of energy would create a powerful fire blast. Each recruit released a breath of fire in succession to end the daily exercise and help greet the day with confidence.

Their neighbor, a teenage boy with short spikes of hair, high arched, zig-zag eyebrows and slanted eyes, let out a long stream of fire out of his mouth, while Hotaru let out a short blast of energy that sparked the air only a couple of seconds like a cough. However, when it came down to her, Kai let out a ferocious roar that reverberated throughout the courtyard, along with a couple other non-bender soldiers, filled with plenty of energy but not a spark of fire behind it.

"Eyes front, soldiers," Captain Akane ordered as they finished up and marched down the line of soldiers, "Alright, you maggot-slugs, it's time for your final assessment. Most of you have been expecting this day with anticipation and dread, no doubt hearing the horrible rumors from some of the older recruits of the difficulty of the final exam. I am here to confirm that each and every rumor is true." The older woman did an about face and glared down the other row of recruits, causing the groups of soldiers in the front-most rows to nervously straighten their posture. "The military is not meant to be easy, and being the best military in the world, it is my job to weed out the weak. Those who are in front of me today are a testament that not absolutely everyone here is complete garbage. However, occasionally there has been a bit of trash that slips through the cracks, and that is the point of today's final test. Lieutenant Lan Fan will explain the rest of the details."

The younger woman with black hair and a higher breast plate that obscured the mantle armor that lacked a golden fiery crest and lining that a captain would have stepped forward and clasped her arms behind her back, "Both the 41st division and the 42nd will be combining into two mixed teams, split between firebenders and non-benders. Your object: capture the other team's flag."

The mixture of disgruntled tension and excitement in the air was almost palpable, distress mostly felt among the non-benders, and Kai could hardly blame them. They always had been split into benders versus non-benders when it came to this particular exercise, something about showing the superiority of the Fire Nation and to prepare the infantry soldiers against bender attacks. The firebenders almost always won, naturally- the exercises were usually conducted at late morning-to-midday, a point in time where firebenders were the strongest, not to mention they could do a lot more destructive, long-distance combat without having to physically get involved -so for people like Kai and Anju, who had no firebending capabilities, it was a gross undertaking. The last Capture the Flag, one of the lead firebenders, a guy by the name of Kotaro, had burned the training ground's forest to the ground in order to inhibit the non-benders progression because only firebenders could move their way through the sea of flame without hurting themselves, either lowering the sea of flames where they walked or bending the fire around them as they progressed through the forest. However, due to how many recruits had been hospitalized from smoke inhalation and recycled to lower factions as a result, the instructors mandated that the innovative tactic only be utilized in the field and not in practice, and only when their commanding officer ordered it. All fires that seemed to spread were to be immediately lowered or snuffed out by the participants or the second lieutenants that observed the match.

"You and your team will act to either protect your flag or steal the other team's flag. The match will end when one side has both flags in their territory. This test is not based on who loses or wins, but how you work together as a group. Pass and you will graduate with the rest of your peers. Fail, and you will be held back and recycled to the next unit of recruits. Do that one too many times and you will be kicked out out of the military, bringing nothing but disgrace and dishonor to your families and your nation."

_No pressure,_ Kai frowned, though she wasn't concerned for herself. She saw her brother standing next to her, his shoulders rigid and tense. One look at the set line in his jaw and she could tell he was a fish out of water. Hotaru had already been held back after failing the baseline for the firebender's physical fitness test. If he couldn't make the grade this time around, it was game over.

"In this exercise, you will treat the flag as if it was a captured general. You have been trained as soldiers to follow orders, but commanders often change due to promotion or die in the line of battle. Therefore, you will decide amongst yourselves who will lead you all to victory."

"Remember, you are only as strong as your weakest link and there is to be friendly fire only. Only light burns and minimal lacerations to disarm your opponents," the captain added in a last minute reminder, "I don't want a repeat of last month's exercise and have to send half of you to the medical tent and the other half home in body bags."

"Non-benders, move towards the east side of the wall," second lieutenant Zorin ordered, gesturing his dragon-tattooed right arm that labeled him as a dragoon away from the 41st division before swinging it the other direction. "Firebenders, move to the west side of the wall. You have until mid-morning to set up and prepare for battle."

Kai rolled her eyes as she stepped away from the immediate power struggle that began to ensue among the firebending troops. Firebenders were powerful, but they were often arrogant and full of themselves due to how their abilities fueled a desire for power. It was only natural that they would become disorganized once they had to select a leader. Boys were always obsessed with deciding who was the leader. If not for the fact that they had the ability to melt a person's flesh off bare bone, Kai could scarcely believe that her side had never won a fight against them before.

Bolt-Brows from earlier locked onto her argent gaze, giving her a wicked smile as he watched her walk away. A couple of folks from her own unit had already elected her leader when her back was turned due to how calm she was the last time they did the exercise, so she took up the mantle of leadership with very little struggle. Most of the 41st division, made up of greener troops than her own, were already leaning against the outer barrier in admission of defeat while she joined up with the closest gathering of soldiers.

"Alright folks, let's do this thing," she spoke with a loud, boisterous energy as she clapped her hands together. She was awake now, and that meant she was focused. "I know that the firebenders have a good advantage on us because they can literally shoot fire out of their fingertips," that comment earned a few chuckles as she continued, "but we have the most versatile weapons and equipment. If done right, we can totally win this thing!"

"What's the point?" a guy from the other division asked with a dejected look on his face, like he was only here for the free food and masochistic yelling, "We're completely outmatched. There's a reason the Fire Nation is the most powerful military in the world, and it's not because of a bunch of non-benders like us."

"Hey! Don't say that. You don't give enough credit to non-benders," Kai frowned.

"Yeah! Where would we be without the Yu-Yan archers or the engineers behind our warships and battle tanks?" Anju argued defensively, picking up a bow and a quiver of arrows from the weapon rack.

"Anju's right. Just because we don't have any bending doesn't mean we don't contribute to the war effort in some way. Because we can't firebend, we have to be smarter with our choices and think more creatively with how we proceed. We don't have the freedom to charge headlong into a fight that we don't know the outcome of. We can access a variety of weapons and plan, and don't require our element to be within arm's length or have to worry about our chi being in turmoil to utilize it to the fullest extent. People have misunderestimated us for the last time-"

"That's not a word."

"Well, whatever," Kai's cheeks resembled a bright moon peach, caught momentarily off-guard by her snafu but proudly resumed her motivational speech, "the point is that I believe that we can do this. We just have to work smarter, not harder. They might have fire but we have the numbers, and I just so happen to know a couple of a firebender's weak points. Now, let's get an assessment of what kind of gear we've got on-hand..."

* * *

After spending most of their allotted planning time with arguments and more than a couple threats of fire duels looming in the air, a few of the more levelheaded firebenders finally suggested that Kotaro be the one to lead them and come up with the plan. After all, he had successfully won them the last game of Capture the Flag. The teen had an intimidating aura, full of fire and a stern expression, something you normally wouldn't see in someone so young. His lightning bolt eyebrows and slanted eyes made it look like he was always squinting and any sneer in his expression made him look that much more sinister.

"...So that's the plan. Any questions?" he asked as some hands raised in the air to debate strategies. Hotaru stood on the outside portion of the circle of firebenders, anxious to avoid the conflict ensuing. He wished he wasn't a firebender. Then he could be spending his time with Anju rather than watch a bunch of hot-headed guys and scheming girls try and figure out how to outshine their fellow soldiers in order to stand out to the high ranked military officers that watched over their exam. He wanted to capture the star-filled galaxy of Anju's freckles in his paintings and write a dozen haikus about her lips. As soon as their military term was up, he swore he was going to marry this girl.

Ever since he met Anju, he loved her passion and cheerful disposition. She made almost everything about the world feel fresh and new, like he was seeing it for the first time. He liked how she made him look at things differently in a more positive light. His sister had always done that in the past, but it was more from encouragement than genuine opinion. Anju really and truly believed that the Fire Nation was a wonderful country, the brightest shining star of all the four nations, and that spreading that light would benefit the rest of the world. It was what made him hang in there during all those grueling weeks of basic training, that made him truly believe that being conscripted into the Fire Nation military wasn't as bad as all that. That, and his sister's constant support, were the only things that kept him going. Which was why he couldn't fail today. He refused to fall behind and lose his sister and Anju to the energized chaos of war. He couldn't hold them back just because he was weak.

"Hey, 'Taru! We're about to start," one of the firebenders from his unit, a guy named Haruta, shouted at him, "Get your head out of the sand and focus!"

"O-Oh! R-Right!" he stammered before pausing, "...what are we doing again?"

"Ugh, you idiot. Didn't you hear a single thing Kotaro said? He said for the main group of firebenders to move out." He stood there for a few seconds, not quite processing his words. Haruta was eager to rectify this. "That means come with us, stupid."

"Oh! Okay! Lead the way!" And then the five minute warning horn sounded off.

* * *

The first few minutes of the exercise were always brutal. Each team was eager to smash through the other team's defenses, so a large bulk of the teams from both sides were at the front, desperate to spot a lapse in defenses and go for the opening. A dry riverbed with the non-benders standing on the higher ground of the divide with firebenders shooting and trying to invade on the other. It was easy to tell them apart. Non-benders had to wear more heat-resistant armor that covered their arms and legs, including kabuto helmets and yugake gloves made out of komodo-rhino skin, while firebenders had their standard military uniform of arm bracers, tassets, spaulders, and chest plates, but no other equipment was provided- not like they needed it. All shields had been thrown up on the non-bender side with iron spears pointing out to keep the opposing team from getting too close.

"Keep your shields together and your spears out! A firebender's fire is weaker the farther he is away from his target!" Kai shouted over the continuous blasts of fire. Some of the outer edges where the land was lower and had little-to-no cover from the shields had occasional skirmishes, but so far no one on either side had made it successfully across the barrier, at least without getting caught. The one brave bender that managed to overpower her soldiers carrying long spears on the far right side was quickly subdued and pinned to the ground by a wave of arrows before they were bound and taken to their 'jail.' "Nice job, archers! Keep it up!" If she had turned her head, she could have seen the smile Anju had sent her way.

A rogue couple of fireballs that went over the shields went directly towards Kai before she deflected it with her dadao sword, however she could only manage to do twice before the weapon was knocked out of her hand. A droplet of sweat ran down the side of her face before wiping it off with the back of her glove. They held up a good defense so far, but firebending was more physically taxing when you were on the receiving end of it, being an offensive martial art style. The sun still hadn't hit the highest point in the sky, and the longer they were on the defensive, the quicker they would tire out. The push back on the shield users were already starting to weaken in stamina, tilting backward slightly as some of the shield bearers dug their heels into the ground. The archers were still far enough away that the blasts of fire couldn't quite reach the trees they hid in, but how much longer would that last?

"Get ready to enter Phase One! Archers, on my mark!" Kai ordered, holding her arm out. Anju and a few other archers pulled a different kind of arrow from their quivers, one with a bulbous balloon attached to the end of it. "Ready... steady..."

Kai patiently waited, listening to the rhythm of the onslaught, the various crescendos and decrescendos of the battle, which were largely out of rhythm. Then... there it was! An opening!

"NOW!" A series of arrows shot from the trees behind them, firing at and in-between the firebenders, engulfing many of them in a sticky, viscous green slime. "Alright! Great job! Now move onto the second phase! Reserve Team, trade positions with the shield bearers! Give them your arm bracers!" The people who had been anxiously waiting behind the shield users with long spears and snuffing out stray embers in the grass now traded positions and started quickly undoing the clasps around their arm guards while the fire blasts were temporarily halted. With such large shields, Kai reasoned, they wouldn't need the plates on their arms. "Squad C, prepare to move out! Squad B..." The brunette waited until she was certain everyone was ready and gave the order. "...Lower the shields." The middle group of shields suddenly opened up as the second wave of soldiers that stood behind the shield wall broke through the clear opening. Using the outer shield of the Reserve Team's arm bracers as stepping stools, the squad managed to move through the slimy green substance that covered the ground and trapped the firebenders like a human sized glue-trap.

Looking around, Kai saw that her brother was nowhere to be found. Was he farther in the territory, stuck guarding the flag that most likely no one would come for? What would happen if he encountered her soldiers? Would he be able to defend himself against them? What if he failed to make an impression? Would he get held back? What would happen if the soldiers she had just sent out, soldiers that she had sent out on her orders, hurt him in some way? Would he get blamed for the loss of the flag?

Kai bit her lip, perplexed at what to do before taking off after the platoon that had successfully made it across the glue trap, shouting, "Hold down the fort until I get back!" at no one in particular. A few confused cries and shouts of her name rang out but were quickly smothered out by the ongoing warfare as she followed after her teammates venturing into enemy territory.

Squad B ran through the firebender's defenses, shields raised on all sides to flank and defend the infantrymen and a few of the other swift-footed soldiers that ran ahead of her. A couple of firebenders who still had use of their arms sent a short blast towards her flank, which nearly singed the back of her neck as she ducked out of the way.

One of the soldiers in the six-person platoon, the disheartened guy from the 41st division from earlier by the name of Akira, gave her a flummoxed stare, probably wondering as to why she was here instead of back leading the troops, but threw a couple smoke bombs attached to his sash anyways, blasting the area with explosions of smoke and giving them some cover as they disappeared into the thickets of trees and out of her line of sight.

Taking off in a separate direction, Kai coughed from the smoke and ran blindly through the forest, scouting for any sign of her brother. Most of the branches or tree trunks had been blackened from the last intense match of Capture the Flag, but there were still a few cherry blossoms peaking out of the tree branches.

"Hotaru! Hota-" Kai called out before clasping her hands over her mouth and reprimanding herself internally._ Smart move, Kai. Just go and announce your location to every firebender in the enemy territory._ But how else was she supposed to find her brother? Despite what people said about twins, they did not have telepathic mind-reading abilities. If they had, she wouldn't have spent so many years trying to keep Hotaru from stealing all of her snacks out of their hiding places growing up (there was still a bag of candied ash-banana chips that her brother hadn't found yet).

Gratefully, even after making sure to change direction and serpentine through the trees, she didn't think she was followed. Actually, up until now, it had been mostly quiet in the enemy territory, probably, Kai figured, due to most of the soldiers being at the barrier to keep up a strong front, though she was certain that some of the firebenders that had managed to avoid the sticky wave from earlier were following behind them. Surely they wouldn't be so arrogant as to leave their flag unguarded. However, once she slowed down at a clearing, she saw that the flag was the sole figure in the meadow. Not an enemy soldier in sight. No Hotaru either.

She stood there for a moment, watching the red pennant with a blue Fire Nation symbol in the center flap carelessly in the wind. It couldn't be this easy. Then again, she couldn't recall her team ever coming this far. Maybe they were owed this. Seeing that her squad had arrived at its destination point, already jogging towards the flag, Kai was ready to head back and resume her search for Hotaru. Who knows? Maybe her being here would help distract any stray firebender troops.

A ball of fire abruptly whizzing past her head pulled her out of her thoughts, the hiss of the heat felt by her ear positively blistering as the fireball landed behind her with a thunderous crash. Shifting gears, Kai suddenly tucked and rolled towards the dirt, narrowly missing the second shot. Lifting a chain attached to her hip, she swung it with incredible force, spinning stray blasts of fire safely away from her person as she got back up on her feet.

"You know, a better commander would have stayed behind and let all the foot-soldiers do the work," spoke a voice with a warm bravado that belonged to Bolt-Brows himself. What was it about firebenders and their dramatics? The way he announced himself and the way the leaves of the trees cast shadows on his face made it look like he was wearing some kind of theatrical, savage warpaint.

"Yeah, well, I'm more of a hands-on kind of girl," Kai fired back as she got into a defensive stance. "Shouldn't the almighty Kotaro be leading the strike against the non-benders and their flag?"

"I would, but why do all that work when I can just send your brother to do it? After all, you're both much less of a threat when you're separated." Kai froze in place at his words. That was why she didn't see him. They put him on offense, knowing that she would look for him in their territory.

Not giving her more time to criticize herself, Kotaro sent out a long stream of fire from his hands, increasing in strength with the overhead sun brightly shining in the meadow. Kai quickly mirrored his movements with her own whip, sluggishly pushing the flames out of the way with no real force behind the strike. Grass caught by the dying embers smoked and ignited by their feet. While she was distracted by the rogue wildfire, Kotaro concentrated towards the group behind her, who was trying to pull out the flagpole lodged into the ground. Two female firebenders who had been waiting in the trees slid down to the ground like ninjas in the night to aid in Kotaro's defensive offense and fired a series of kicks at Squad B. The fire was much more potent up-close, and it wasn't long before the shields were knocked out of the way. Kai ran towards the group, trying to block the strikes of fire that Kotaro was throwing at her, but there was so much push back against her chains. She couldn't fight Kotaro and take out the other firebenders. One of the teammates, a girl named Minako, had blocked most of the strikes with a naginata, taking swipes at the female firebender's feet to break their stances, and had managed to tug the flag out of the mount before it was knocked out of her hands.

Kotaro leered over her with a twisted smirk as a flick of his wrist destroyed their own flag with a burst of fire. Kai's expression flickered briefly to outrage before she calmed her expression and good-naturedly let it go. It was unfair, but a valid strategy. Captives were often killed if deemed no longer, and it prevented her team from winning; she respected his tactics.

Her group, already growing fearful of Kotaro's approach and the loss of the red flag, scattered and dropped most of their equipment in the hopes of a clean getaway. Akira threw another smoke bomb to cover their movements. Anyone who hadn't escaped in the smoke was being carted off to the Firebender jail. Still, Kai continued onward and snatched the metal pole from the ground. A flag-less flagpole would still be just as useful as a covered one. Hopefully.

Expecting her to retreat, Kotaro was already motioning to trap her with his flames, but a sharp sweep across the backs of his legs with the edge of the flagpole brought him down and extinguished any fire he had been generating. Then she bolted back from where she came from. Years later, she would realize that this was an incredibly stupid idea, having tried to avoid the firebenders from the front-lines. But right now, she was just focused on getting back to her side and praying that Hotaru was okay, or at least had minimal damage.

Other firebenders came at her from her left and ran her into a large group of rocks that blocked her path, but using the pole's long length to her advantage, she shoved the end into the dirt and vaulted herself over the rock-face as flames engulfed the bottom of the pole where her retreating figure once was. If it wasn't for her insulated gloves, she was positive the conductive metal would have given her palms second degree burns.

Managing to give most of them the slip, Kai moved alongside the barrier of trees to get a view of what was going on and where it was safest to cross. On her side, she could see that a lot of firebenders had broken through the lines, running around their side like a bunch of pig-chickens with their heads cut off, but at the same time quite a few of them were in their jail as well. One in particular she recognized to be her brother, who was fleeing a group of non-benders with polearms. Seeing Hotaru's distress, Kai didn't have to think. She ran out of the thicket and spun the bola chain by her side and let it loose, tangling her subordinates' legs together and causing them to fall to the ground.

"Kai, what the heck are you doing!? You're supposed to be on our side!" one of the soldiers yelled angrily while her brother just looked at her in disbelief.

"Sorry!" she offered apologetically before feeling the heat of another fireball flash behind her and resuming her run through the riverbed, Kotaro hot on her heels, so to speak. He was literally propelling himself forward with jets of fire._ Just a few more feet... just a little bit further..._ she chanted in her head.

Running for the gap with the lowest amount of clearance and least amount of slime, she jumped and vaulted towards the edge with the pole dug into the sand as a loud order to shoot was screeched behind her. She was inches away from victory when one of two things happened: one, a sudden blast of fire shot over her head from her team's territory, and second, she felt a hot blast slam into her side, causing her grip on the pole to slip due to her gloves' material and knock her into the wall of the riverbed rather than land on the opposite side, sliding face down into the dirt as the pole clattered tinnily onto the ground. She let out a short hiss of pain as she rolled onto her side. Everything stung like she had given a concrete sidewalk a high-five with her face at full force.

Similar groans could be heard behind her as Kotaro was flying face-down in an uncomfortable angle. Flecks of pebbles and rock bounced off the side of her face, coming from loose rock from the upperbank as a pair of feet landed beside her. Suddenly she was pinned with a hand on her chest and a blade of fire at her throat. Her head turned weakly, her eyes opening a fraction of an inch to see Hotaru looming over her, his fist filled with the clenched blue material of her team's flag. A look of horror flitted over his gaze as he saw where her upper torso had been blasted. Almost all of the armor protecting her upper back was gone, exposing pink but relatively unharmed skin. Just above her exposed midriff, Kai could feel clumps of grass press into her upper back, the firebender's flagpole lying just inches away from her team's territory. They had lost.

Whoops and hollers could be heard through the playing field as people began congratulating one another with harsh slaps to the backs. A moment of tranquility flooded through Kai as she calmly pushed herself off of the ground and relinquished the flagpole to Hotaru, though she would have been lying to herself if she didn't feel a wash of disappointment flood over her the second she heard the opposing team's victory horn cry for the exercise to end. She could see the apologies mounting behind his eyes, but she shook her head and gave her brother a soft pat on the arm as he gently helped her up. She turned and saw that Kotaro was picking himself up as well, looking more than a little sour even though his side had won.

Swallowing her pride, Kai nudged herself out of Hotaru's arms and limped shakily towards Kotaro and then stuck her arm out amicably towards her opponent and smiled. "Good game."

Kotaro gave her a perplexed once-over before grasping her hand a firm handshake and belting out a loud guffaw, "Well, I didn't expect you to be such a good sport about it. From all the looks you were giving me, I was certain you were planning to set my hair on fire with your mind."

"Don't be silly. I can't firebend," Kai laughed jubilantly before wincing at the bruise in her side. Guess her ribs were a bit tender from that last assault after all.

"Really? I would've never have guessed," he spoke with an edge of sarcasm, eying her with a hint of respect glimmering in his dark amber gaze. "Well, not too shabby for a non-bender. You gave me a real run for my money. I hope we get to fight again soon, hopefully," he eyed both her and Hotaru, who had a bit of smoke leaking out of his palms, "with both of you on my side." The threesome all clasped their fists and palms together in a respectful bow before Kotaro began helping some of his teammates out of the slime with a few medics on scene that were accompanied by a few aardvark-sloths to lick them out.

"Thanks for the assist, little brother," Kai smiled knowingly towards Hotaru, who flushed slightly in embarrassment.

"Likewise," he replied back with an uneasy chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can't believe you made that shot."

"I know, right!? I was just like 'BAM!' and they went down! I didn't expect it to hit, especially so far away!" Kai exclaimed with excitement before proudly slapping a hand on her chest. "And they shall call me 'bola woman' in legends after. A woman being called 'the old ball and chain' will have new meaning. Songs will be sung of my greatness-!"

Her brother cut her off with a bout of warm laughter, tousling his hand in his sister's hair before her ego got too big, causing her to whine and fuss and protest in vain before they eventually regrouped with the others. Regardless of what side they fought on, they would always be there to watch each other's back. That was what they believed in their hearts.


	2. A Willingness to Endure

**Chapter 2: A Willingness to Endure  
**

Hotaru had spent the last thirty minutes squatting in a group of shrubs during free period. Burs were stuck all over various parts of his uniform due to his wise decision of kneeling in a grove of weeds covered with bur-reed plants. The fabric was thick enough that he didn't feel the prickles too intensely, but he would receive quite a bit of scorn from the Captain or one of her other officers for exhibiting a disorderly uniform. Somehow, he couldn't find it in himself to care.

By some miracle he had managed to ditch his squadron of firebenders after dealing with the rounds of approval. Normally, he would have been practicing advanced firebending katas with the other firebenders of the 42nd, but since the special training exercise had basically thrown the rest of the basic training schedule off its axis, he was able to sneak away in the middle of the confusion. Besides, he already knew his firebending was sub-par, at best. He didn't need to sit through another round of Lieutenant Kagerou reminding him about it by berating him in front of his entire unit. He should have been used to it after two months, but the humiliation still cut as deep as it had the first day. Everyone was convinced that he got off on humiliating his worst cadets.

Which was why he had spent the last half hour hiding in a bush for a chance encounter with Anju, the one good thing in his life right now (other than Kai of course). She was doing target practice with his sister and the other non-benders. While it would have been common courtesy to see how his sister was progressing, Hotaru found himself unable to tear away his gaze from Anju. The way her honey-colored eyes would narrow slightly, her freckled brow furrowing in pure concentration right before she loosed an arrow that would almost always find its mark, it was like a switch had been flipped where the kind Anju had been replaced by one that was cold, calculated, and confident. It was enough to make a man go weak in the knees, and with any luck he would hopefully cause her to do the same in kind.

Hotaru was so caught up in his reverie, he barely noticed that the entire session had passed him by as the recruits were now putting away their equipment on the weapons rack. Coming out of the haze, he found that Kai's grey eyes had locked onto him before he ducked back into his hiding place, no doubt a smirk starting to creep up onto her face. Damn. She would tease him mercilessly for this the instant they had a moment alone together.

Knowing that Anju was always last to leave, retrieving her fallen arrows with care, Hotaru lied in wait for her to walk past the cherry blossom tree path on the way back to the main courtyard. Kai knowingly passed him by, but did not make any mention of this to Anju or any of her fellow cadets. As many times as they traded mischievous blows and banter, he was grateful that his sister had not chosen this particular moment to return the favor.

The moment that Anju's light footsteps were in his line of sight, he snatched her with one arm around her waist and one over her mouth, expertly pulling her silently behind a tree for some cover. Her face, still hard from practice, contorted into a glare with a mixture of cold ferocity, shock, and confusion before it dissipated entirely. Her warm eyes softened almost immediately upon recognition as Hotaru finally lifted up his hand gently from her plush lips, lips that were now pursed open and flushed red. How he wanted to take those lips and...

"Hey troublemaker," Anju briefly interrupted his thoughts as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her expression relaxed. He was a full head taller than her, Anju only being a few inches shorter than Kai, but her arms were strong and made hanging onto of him effortless as his hands naturally found their way around her waist.

"Trouble hmm? Is that my new nickname?" The corners of Hotaru's mouth pulled into a cocky smirk.

"You realize that you're the reason I got in trouble this morning in the first place, right?" she feigned irritation, but it didn't meet her eyes. Their romantic trysts were as appealing to her as they were to him. "We could get into a lot more if we're caught."

"Then be sure to not make a lot of noise," Hotaru teased in a low voice as he lowered his face down towards hers, his lips inches apart from hers that he could feel her breathe as she exhaled.

"I won't if you won't."

In that instant, he could no longer contain himself and closed the distance, pressing his lips firmly against hers that she met in earnest. She tasted like apples and smelled of plum blossoms. He held her lithe form flushed against him as she grabbed fist-fulls of fabric and deepened the kiss, her back pressed up against the base of the cherry tree. The armor clinked noisily when it met a breastplate or pauldron, but it was hard to care. After what like felt too short of an eternity later, he felt Anju pull away from him.

"So... how is your day so far?" she breathed out, her cheeks flushed and smiling up at him.

"Oh err... fine, I guess," he mumbled, stumbling over himself trying to form a coherent sentence. She stopped kissing him to ask him _that?_ _Now?_

"I heard you did really well out there during Capture the Flag," she mentioned with ease, "It's all over camp how you single-handedly took our flag and won the game."

He was taken aback at her praise. This was news to him. He didn't think that it was that big of a deal outside of a small group of firebenders that had witnessed it, but according to her the whole camp had been talking about it. Rather than make him proud, it caused his cheeks to flush with shy embarrassment. His mother always said that his humbleness was one of his most redeeming qualities. "Actually, I was just the only one in my group lucky enough to not get captured."

"Okay, but you also kept my team from winning by taking out your sister in a massive fireball. A brutal move, but I can respect that."

"Yeah..." he trailed off. Actually Hotaru still felt guilty about that. He hadn't actually meant for that shot to hit Kai at all, but thanks to his shoddy, improper firebending, he couldn't even properly deflect the shot that Kotaro had sent at her until it was too late. Judging from how hard Kai had wiped out, he might as well have shot her himself.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure Kai has no hard feelings about it." Her assurance was touching but unnecessary. Kai didn't simply get mad if she lost. She was competitive, but she was an exceptionally gracious loser when she had been truly bested. It made him wonder if she ever really cared about her own success. "But good news for you. That means you'll probably have your first pick of assignments for what military position you want to pursue," Anju smiled encouragingly, unknowingly twisting the edge of the knife in his heart.

"I'd much rather be wherever you go," Hotaru whispered with a low bravato, tracing the softened edge of Anju's cheek with his calloused thumb. "Do you think they would accept my admission into the Yuyan Archers?"

"Probably not. I've seen your aim with a short bow," she teased good-naturedly, leaning into his touch as she placed her thin, smooth fingers over his own. They were strong and nimble. "But perhaps you could be a local scout for a nearby patrol, maybe utilize your stealth in order to visit Yuyan Island where all the archers train during your shore-leave."

"And then what?" His smile stretched a bit wider each time while she continued voicing her plans, replacing words like 'maybe' with 'definitely.'

"Then you could secretly deliver flowers to me and leave love letters in the knothole of a tree while I do my year of solitary training and study, and after that you would convince your commanding officer to transfer you to an area where I'll be assigned..."

"And after that?" he continued to humor her, edging closer to her mouth. They had so little time left before being sent out. She was thinking ahead, imagining the future- _their _future. He was left behind in the present, memorizing the details of her face.

"What's wrong?"

He hesitated and almost told her, told her everything about his doubts and fears about the results, and whether or not they would be in this together until the end. Rather than elaborate, he wrapped his arms around her and firmly pulled her close, as if he could shield her and himself from the rest of the world. He didn't want to think about tomorrow, about the niggling voice in the back of his head that told him he would never amount to anything. Right now, he wanted to be in the moment than worry about tomorrow.

* * *

"Keep your knees bent, Private Kai! If I can push you over, your knees aren't bent far enough! Go lower!" Kagerou singled her out of the group as he paced in front of her. A frown seemed to be permanently etched on his face as sharp lines creased around his brow, mouth, and the corners of his wizened eyes. Years in the military will do that to a person. "I said 'lower,' private! Are you deaf as well as disobedient?!"

"Sir, no sir!" Kai responded automatically, already feeling her knees at the limit of how far they could go down while being comfortable.

"I suppose that poor excuse of a stunt with the flagpole during the training exercise was a fluke, then?"

"No, sir!"

"Then I guess I just imagined you abandoning your team in the line of duty for a mission that ended in failure." Kai went silent, her heart quickened as the eyes of the other recruits were on her, before reprimanding herself. _Get it together, Kai. Stand by your decisions. Don't give him anything to use against you!_ "Lucky for you, I have a pretty good imagination, so here's what you're going to do..." His face twisted into an almost gleeful sneer underneath his beard as he tossed her a guan dao he had selected from the weapons rack, which was heavier than her training spear. It belonged to the other officer who was overseeing the cavalry training, Lieutenant Zorin, who did not look pleased that Kagerou was borrowing his personal equipment.

"You're going to do a wall-sit against that tree over there while practicing your diagonal cuts for five minutes. If you fail to do so or drop the weapon at any time, you'll run the next five laps around the training grounds full sprint, is that clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Kai bit the inside of her cheek as her legs protested from the uncomfortable strain as she fully lowered herself and pressed her back up against the rough bark of the tree until her legs were at a ninety degree angle. Her back and right side were still tender from the light burns she received from Capture the Flag, but she refused to make a sound. A few seconds later she began twisting her hips as she went over her attacks and the real challenge began. She had always favored her left leg, and now was paying the price for it. Despite having been training for weeks, her calves quivered in pain and exertion. To distract herself, she focused her attacks and began to count backwards by seven from one thousand.

1000... 993... 986... 979...

She tried to keep her breathing deep and steady while she moved her hips, her lower arms straining from the extra weight the guan dao presented. It was beyond her why a dragoon, a class of soldier that spent most of their careers on the backs of komodo-rhinos, would need to bend their knees so much. Still, she endured it. There had been worse punishments than this since she joined up for basic training and far more demeaning. One kid had been unfortunate to miss the waste bin when throwing away a pair of chopsticks, and the officer overseeing the mess hall made him sit inside the very same bin for the rest of the day, refuse and all.

...790 ...783 ...776...

The air was warm but not as humid as it was in the summer. It smelled of fresh flower blossoms and brought life to a mostly barren camp filled with dirt roads and cleared away brush forests and buildings. Scorch marks could occasionally be found on the ground or sides of the building, either from training exercises or wild shots from spars or new recruits. By this time she had almost reached zero in her head tally when her five minutes were up and swiftly dropped her butt to the ground, the muscles in her legs crying out in sweet relief. A deep sigh puffed past her lips as her commanding officer marched over towards her.

"I didn't say stop, cadet!" Kagerou shouted.

"But the five minutes-" the words were already out of her mouth before she could stop them. The blood-brown eyes fixed on her glimmered with sadistic pleasure.

"Is that back talk I hear, Private Kai?"

"No sir! I only wanted clarification, sir!"

"I said to sit against that tree for five minutes while practicing your attacks! You'll stop sitting against that tree until I say so! Thanks to that little stunt, your five laps will be with high knees!"

"Yes, sir!" Painful as it was to jog awkwardly with high knees, it was still better than sitting against that tree, where every second turned into an eternity.

"You and your sorry excuse of a brother think you own this camp, think our training is just a playground for you to do as you please!" Kai pressed her lips into a thin line at that but didn't say anything other than biting out a barely contained, angry, "no, sir!" before gritting her teeth.

"Since he has yet to show up to practice, you'll continue to sit and do all of his exercises for him until he shows up," Kagerou ordered, looming over her even though she was a few inches taller than him when she was at full height. "-and when you're at your limit and feel like quitting, you're going to give me ten more seconds for every time you drop!"

Regretfully, she got back onto her feet and pressed her back into the tree, her hands now free to push onto her thighs for support- a small relief, but one that hardly made up for the amount of suffering she felt. Sweat began pouring from her face in buckets, her knees we're on fire, like they would buckle at any moment. Still, she refused to give Kagerou the satisfaction of her failure. She was used to picking up the slack for Hotaru. It was the one of the main reasons why she volunteered for the military in the first place. She wasn't expecting to see him show up anytime soon, but a small part of her hoped that he would so that she could finally stop. She quickly shut down that tiny voice and redirected that to drive her to focus on keeping her back from sliding and being scraped further by the bark.

A red haze had fallen over her, blind to everything but pain and the sudden intense hatred of her own lapses in her training. She could endure this, she could be better. She just needed to make adjustments in her exercises. She continued counting, her will and her own stubbornness being the only thing still holding her up. At one point, she was sure she mentally blacked out because she couldn't remember the last number she had subtracted from and had to start over from where she last remembered she left off in her counting, her focus growing weaker as time went on. She had to be repeating the same numbers at least three times by now.

...34 ...27 ...20

"...te Kai...st"

10... 3...

"Private Kai..!"

Halfway through her starting at one thousand again, she finally heard Lieutenant Zorin mention her name in a haze before she dropped and began panting on the ground in exhaustion.

"It's over, private. Good work. Wish I had more soldiers like you. All of you could stand to be a little bit more like Private Kai here!" Zorin raised his voice at the end so the others of the unit heard him loud and clear. Kagerou's frown deepened the moment his and Lieutenant Zorin's eyes met, but neither spoke a word. Too much had already been said between them. Finally the bald mustachio'd dragoon lowered his voice back towards her direction again as he leaned down to help her up. "Go do your laps, private-" Kai wheezed out a muted groan of disbelief. "-But first go get some water and stretch out your legs, and then do your laps. You're no good to me right now."

The moment the world decided to stop spinning was when Kai tried to stretch, this time purposely leaning against the tree with her arms and legs extended and her hands out against the bark, and began stretching out her hamstrings while the rest of the unit continued to go to their next exercise. Her legs quaked like they were made of jelly, but the stretches were the good kind of hurt. She greedily sucked down the lukewarm water in her water-skin before spraying the remainder of it on her face, licking the stray salty droplets that ran towards her lips. It wasn't enough. She staggered awkwardly towards the water fountain and began to refill it. The water was cooler and somehow took the ache and fatigue out of her limbs a little bit more. She splashed hand-fulls of it on her face until her ponytail was practically drenched and took another long swig from her pouch until every drop had been squeezed out. She was filling up her water-skin for the second time when she spotted her brother looking particularly crestfallen and in that moment, she forgot her pain.

* * *

By the time they saw each other again, it was dinnertime in the Huo Xing barracks, the one time of the day that everyone could unwind and replenish. Being so close to graduation day, many soldiers were seen relaxing in the mess hall. Even the officers seemed to be at ease. However, Hotaru was unable to enjoy any of it.

After everyone had finished their morning training, word about the end results of the 41st and 42nd division's Capture the Flag exercise had spread, and since then Hotaru was showered with nothing but admiration and praise. Constant slaps on the back and good natured punches in the arm were administered by his teammates and other cadets he didn't know, telling him how amazing he was and how proud they were, and why shouldn't he? He should be proud that he helped single-handedly managed to keep the other team from a close victory. His split-second decision to strike kept Kai from bringing their flag- well, flagpole -to her team's side... except that he didn't. Kotaro had.

Instead, Hotaru had reacted reflexively after seeing a fireball flung at his sister and immediately tried to divert the shot. He had never exhibited such ferocity with his firebending before, poor as it was, and as a result, people had noticed. Hotaru had gone from a weakling who had been at the bottom of the unit to a firebending soldier with potential in an entire afternoon, and by doing so would most likely have his ideal military position. He should have been proud, been grateful for such a good opportunity, but he wasn't. The guilt was eating him up inside, the unwarranted congratulations another knot in his stomach.

Hotaru had just told himself to smile and nod and endure the compliments and that Kotaro wouldn't take any personal offense at not having all the attention on himself- the man already had enough of a reputation that one little victory would be a drop of water in a huge pond -and as luck would have it, Kotaro was being surprisingly cool about it. Despite his appearance and aggressive tactics, he was genuine in what he said and was overall good guy. If he was bothered about Hotaru taking the final shot, he hadn't mentioned it to anyone. In fact, he was probably one of the few people who knew what really happened. Kai had noticed as well. What did that mean for the officials overseeing the exercise? Would that allow him to leave the military as a dishonorable discharge- something that was worse than failing out of the military -or create justification to place him in the most unwanted and dangerous jobs? He didn't want to think about it.

Currently taking up residency in the abandoned burn building where firebenders would train for indoor combat, he was sulking in the corner and trying not to dwell on these negative thoughts with little success. He tried distracting himself with thoughts of Anju, but they always led to her being disappointed in him. Now he was pondering his place in the grand scheme of things and if anything he did would make a difference, wanting to simply disappear into the background. He was good at that. That is, until his sister Kai found him. She always had this weird sixth sense of knowing when he was having a bad day and being able to find his best hiding spots.

"Hey Tardy-Taru, I brought you some dinner," she greeted with a weary smile and two bowls balanced expertly in her outstretched palms. It was late enough in the day for the mess hall to be closing soon.

Lured by the smell of yakisoba noodles and gyu-don beef bowls she had brought with her, Kai finally managed to coax him out of the crevice he had wedged himself into and convinced him to eat lunch with her. Normally they were supposed to eat all food inside the mess, but Kai always had a knack at sneaking food out from under other people's noses.

She was perched on a semi-stable pile of bricks and mortar that probably used to be part of some sort of dividing structure inside the building, bent over a steaming bowl of yakisoba. "Your food is going to get cold," she remarked as she spooled a bit of noodles on the edge of her chopsticks and blew lightly on it before placing it in her mouth. She hummed in satisfaction.

"I'm not very hungry..." Hotaru mumbled, stirring the noodles and various other ingredients around in the bowl. He had picked at pieces of it, but more than few noodles swam around in the broth in an endless dance like stringy, water shrew-snakes.

"Then you won't mind if I have a bit of your beef tongue..?" she said more like a statement than a question, having already plucked a chunky piece of meat out of his bowl when he wasn't paying attention. The siblings often 'shared' each other's food without permission, but beef tongue was his favorite, next to the soft poached egg, and had he been in a better mood, he would have shown more protest at her taking it, but right now he was too depressed to care. Kai appeared to take note of this, her eyes widening slightly as she plopped the bit of beef into her bowl and casually uncrossed her legs. "Wow, you're really out of it, aren't you?" She lowered her chopsticks, finally letting the gravitas of the situation. "What's wrong? Did Anju break your heart? If so, I'll go find her and rip out her ponytail. Just say the word-"

"Agni, no! Kai, what the hell?!" Hotaru exclaimed, surprised at his sister's sudden dark turn. "I'm just..." he paused and ran his fingers through his hair, unable to bottle it up any longer. "..worried about the results from our Capture the Flag exercise."

"You're nervous?"

"Well yeah, who wouldn't be? Everyone keeps congratulating me about getting the flag, but honestly-" he stared down at the bowl cradled on his lap, "-I didn't do much. I wasn't even the person who got the flag in the first place. I just picked it up after they got disarmed."

"So did I. I'm pretty sure if they were going to kick us out or recycle us, they would have definitely said so by now."

"I'm not made for war, Kai. I've known that for years, ever since you pushed me into that ostrich-horse trough right when we were eight and I took your doll-"

"I knew you were never going to let that one go."

"-You've always been the stronger one of the two of us, the more confident one."

"Pfft you and I both know that _that_ isn't true," she scoffed, rolling her eyes and calling his bluff. "If this was about dinner parties or etiquette, you would have me beat, and we both know at how much of a failure I am in that department."

"You're not _that _bad. I mean, even a blind frog-squirrel finds a nut once in awhile." She responded by socking him in the right arm, causing him to laugh for the first time that day. The more he laughed, the more she kept pounding on him, their bowls set aside and forgotten as he kept wincing and laughing through her fury of fists before she started laughing too. The echoes filled the vacant building with a warm light and energy.

Once the laughter died down, Kai's steel gaze was serious once more and met his bronze one in earnest. "I swear, Hotaru, nothing bad is going to happen to you. I won't let it."

"You can't promise that," he argued back, motivated only by the anguish he felt. He and Anju were going to be separated- as she was part of the 41st division -and to make matters worse was that chances were that he was probably going to be defaulted to an infantry soldier due to his overall poor performance, a position normally reserved for the front lines in order to exchange out soldiers that had grown weary from the constant fighting.

So not only were they not likely to receive the jobs that they applied for when they took the initial entry training exam, they were going to be separated and placed in highly combative militarized zones, the exact opposite that either of them had desired.

"Hey! Look at me. Look. At. Me," she continued to fight for his attention until he relented and finally met her gaze. "Everything is going to be fine. It'll all turn out right in the end. You'll see. I'm certain things will work out."

"How can you be so positive about everything?"

"I don't know. I just am," she shrugged and stared off into the distance before murmuring under her breathe, "I have to be..."

"That's called denial."

"It's called hope, dummy." Her eyes followed two cherry blossoms that fell to the ground in a spiral pattern, spinning around in a dance of sorts without ever touching, before landing in a puddle below, creating ripples that merged and clashed with the other. "Somehow, I know that our destinies are intertwined. You and I... we wouldn't have gotten this far without watching each other's back. I'm positive it will be the same when it comes time for our chance to shine so... cheer up already! The only way you can make yourself better is through self improvement."

With such fiery determination in her eyes and the comforting yet firm grip of her hand squeezing his shoulder timed with her adamant declaration, he wanted to believe her. He truly did. She seemed so sure of herself, but then again she always seemed so sure of herself. She acted mostly on blind faith that everything was going to be alright because she said so.

"Can we still go over some of the firebending katas tonight? Just in case?" Hotaru asked reluctantly. "I think some of the katas we went over last night were helpful for me today."

"Sure thing, little brother."

"And could you please stop calling me 'little brother'? You're only like twelve minutes older than me."

"No can do, little bro. Twelve minutes older still makes me the oldest. Oh! One more thing-" Without warning or provocation, Kai lunged and fully punched Hotaru in the other arm, this one with a bit more force behind it. "That's for leaving me to face Kagerou's wrath alone."

"Owww... okay, I deserved that." Hotaru rubbed his arm slightly. Just like that, her anger over the whole affair was done. It was always like that with her.

"Now eat your beef bowl so you have enough strength tonight for me to kick your butt," Kai jabbed, already scooping up her bowl and slurping the noodles. He followed in kind, preparing for the evening of sparring ahead with new resolve. Little did he know that his thoughts and concerns had brought out an inkling of doubt in Kai.

* * *

**Author's Note: Wow, so Avatar got popular again overnight! Probably helps that there's a pandemic going on and that Netflix finally got wise enough to bring back Avatar the Last Airbender after being gone from its platform for so many years. By the way, I promise Zuko's part is coming soon! I just need to establish my characters a little bit more.  
**

**Fun Fact! The town named Huo Xing means "fire star."  
**


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